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Tuesday, 6 May 2014

Fun things to do with toddlers - Small World Play

A little while ago I bought some wooden dollies from Etsy with the idea that I could set up some small worlds as invitations to play for my toddler.

I laid some sand in a large, shallow plastic storage box and added pebbles, sticks and a few herbs.

We played together moving the dollies around and arranging them in different ways, Boris also had a go at standing up the sticks and balancing the pebbles.

I also really enjoyed the photographic opportunities I had with this activity. As an ex photography teacher I thought about how fun something like this would be as an exercise for students.

I think this activity definitely has potential. Boris was a bit young for any imaginative play but it was a good sensory experience with the textures of the sand, the smooth pebbles and the sticks and the smells of the different herds. Have you ever done invitations to play? What did you use? I am thinking of setting up another small world with water, and maybe one with gravel. I also saw a friend's set up with rice and glitter which was fun. Might have to give that one a go if I can overcome my phobia of glitter!

2 comments:

I love the idea of invitations to play. It's on my to do list! I did it once - I laid out a teddy bears picnic on the floor downstairs which worked brilliantly. Just not got round to doing it again! Great photos. I look forward to seeing more of these ideas...